The 10 Best Playstation 3 Video Games (Part 3)

As I brace for this final article highlighting what I deem to be the top 10 Playstation 3 video games, remember these are arbitrarily ordered and where a game falls in terms of a numerical value is irrelevent to the quality and content of a game. I do not thinking ranking games does a game justice, as we are comparing apples to oranges. An RPG provides a much different experience from a casual arcada game, in the same way that watching football is different than watching bowling. With that out of the way, here are the final four video games I felt were worth being played and being listed in this top 10 list!

There are very few games that are able to function at the scale the Grand Theft Auto series has functioned at. To quote a friend of mine whom I showed GTA4 too, "You mean I can just do whatever I want in this game?" Needless to say, he did not even play any of the story missions. The game is that captivating, that shooting random people and hijacking cars and motorcycles seems like they belong on a regular "to-do" list in life. While this game has inevitably been the center of public controversy, such as the media attention it has garnered through CBS News and Glenn Beck's Show, among other news outlets. Before reading further, it is important to acknowledge that this game is intended for mature audiences. It contains adult subject matter, ranging from violence to drugs to sex and profanity. For all of these adult themes, the game still feels very real; yet stylized in such a way that it does not become overly realistic.

The story in the game is one that is very compelling, and will intrigue gamers all over. In many respects it has qualities similar to many other mafia stories (such as the one found in The Godfather). It is because of this mafia story that the adult themes follow so naturally.

The gameplay is equally intriguing. It is very simple to navigate the control scheme, which works to the advantage of the player on many occasions. The gameplay is great because of how open the world is. It literally feels like you can "do anything" in this game. This game is controversial because of the ability to kill anyone in the game, from pedestrians walking down the street, to tough biker guys, porn stars, and even the police. The violence is fairly relentless if you want it to be, though for a majority of the game, you do not HAVE to kill anyone. This news may come as a surprise to some people, but the choice to not murder anyone is always available (though would probably make the game a bore to be honest). There are also numerous side missions and mini-games, such as acting like a police officer and taking down criminals, bowling, darts, getting drunk and being amused by the screen shaking as you attempt to move around, and so on. The game map is one of the largest I have played on, and exceptionally varied for a game of its scale.

This is undoubtedly one of the best games I have played, despite its few flaws.

8). Super Stardust HD

Super Stardust came as a surprise to me. It was recently made available for free through Playstations "Welcome Back" program. It is another arcade game which is as captivating as it is easy to play. I have chosen this game because I love the colors and general concept of the game, the music and the way it drives your emotions as you look to destroy the onslaught of asteroids and alien creatures before they are able to destroy you and the planet you are defending.

What lured me in to download this game (along with Infamous) was the fact that it was yet another local multiplayer game. It is unfortunate that so many games seem to be terminating local multiplayer, however I find it to be one of the most important components of a video game. They simply make the game more well rounded and allow a longer period of usage. This is why many games on this list are, in fact, multiplayer. I like online gaming and single player games as much as the next person, but this is not where longevity is found for me. I'd rather sit around and play games with my girlfriend and other friends than just be alone and play people online.

Super Stardust is simply put, a fun game.

9). Flower

Flower is a strange, artistic video game which I first played in demo mode. The control scheme is similar to Super Rub A Dub, in that the Sixaxis control scheme is used as opposed to the standard buttons. This makes it very easy for new and casual players to get in on the fun.

The reason why Flower is so strange is because it could essentially have been marketed as a New Age piece of software which would allow an individual to be calmed and meditate. You begin the game as a flower pedal, and your goal is to collect other flower pedals and bring the world back to colorful, vibrant life. Music is used essentially as the metaphysical beating heart of the gameplay. Red flower pedals tend to indicate strands of a musical melody which you play as you cross them. Unique little elements such as that make the game feel less stagnant than it could have been. This is definitely not a challenging game, however it is very difficult to escape the trance in which you may find yourself while you play. It is for this reason that this game braces this top 10 list: it is terrible different than most other video games.

10). EA SKATE

Perhaps it is because I have been skateboarding for around 15 years, but all I can say is that EA SKATE is a very unique alternative sporting video game. For the longest time, I spent countless hours playing the numerous Tony Hawk skateboarding video games; and the series seriously wore out itself welcome. For the longest time, gamers kept wondering what it would be like to have a skateboarding simulator. While SKATE is not quite the simulator we desired, it is vastly better than the Tony Hawk series if you were looking for more realism. The former game is of course still played by many, especially who who are more into its arcade-style of gaming.

So, what inspires me to put SKATE on this list? The Flick-It control scheme is what sold me on this game. Fortunately, the graphics and skating environments are very much on par with this essential control change. In the Tony Hawk series of games, our movements were consistently limited to an arcade-styled set of buttons. I recall that triangle would lead to grinds, square would be your flip tricks, and the circle button would be your grabs. SKATE breaks away from this and puts an emphasis on the controllers analog sticks, in a similar way utlized in a previous EA game "Fight Night." Now, your characters movements are much more natural, and they can even be described as visceral. Skating in video games has never felt so good.